2026 United States Senate elections

2026 United States Senate elections

← 2024 November 3, 2026 2028 →
35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate 51 seats needed for a majority
Leader John Thune Chuck Schumer Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 3, 2025 January 3, 2017 Leader's seat South Dakota New York Current seats 53[a] 45+2[a][b] Seats needed 4
Map of the incumbents:      Democratic incumbent      Republican incumbent      No election      Incumbent TBD
Incumbent Majority Leader John Thune Republican

The 2026 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the United States Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033. Senators are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 2 senators were last elected in 2020, and will be up for election in this cycle.

A special election in Ohio will be held to fill the remaining two years of JD Vance's term following his election to the vice presidency. In Florida, one may also be held to fill the remaining two years of Marco Rubio's term should his nomination as the United States Secretary of State be confirmed. With the election of John Thune as leader of the Republican Conference, this will be the first since 2006 in which the Republicans will not be led by Mitch McConnell.

All 33 Class 2 Senate seats and two Class 3 seats are up for election in 2026; Class 2 currently consists of 20 Republicans and 13 Democrats. If vacancies occur in Class 1 or other Class 3 Senate seats, that state might require a special election to take place during the 119th Congress, possibly concurrently with the other 2026 Senate elections.

There are two seats being defended by Democrats in states won by Donald Trump in 2024 (in both cases, by less than three percentage points): R+1.4 Michigan, where the incumbent is Gary Peters, and R+2.2 Georgia, where the incumbent is Jon Ossoff. Michigan elected Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the Senate in 2024 by 0.3 points; Georgia had no senate election in 2024.^[1]

There are six incumbent Democratic senators that represent states won by Kamala Harris by single-digit margins in 2024: D+2.8 New Hampshire's Jeanne Shaheen, D+4.3 Minnesota's Tina Smith, D+5.2 Virginia's Mark Warner, D+5.9 New Jersey's Cory Booker, and D+6.0 New Mexico's Ben Ray Luján.

There is one seat with a Republican incumbent in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024 (by 6.8 percentage points): Maine, where senator Susan Collins won her reelection to a fifth term in 2020 by 8.6 points; Angus King, an independent, won reelection in 2024 by 17 points. One Republican, senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, is up for reelection in a state won by Trump by a single-digit margin in 2024 at R+3.2.

Each block represents one of the one hundred seats in the U.S. Senate. "D#" is a Democratic senator, "I#" is an Independent senator, and "R#" is a Republican senator. They are arranged so that the parties are separated and a majority is clear by crossing the middle.

Each block indicates an incumbent senator's actions going into the election.

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D40 N.H. Undeclared	D39 Minn. Undeclared	D38 Mich. Undeclared	D37 Mass. Running	D36 Ill. Undeclared	D35 Ga. Running	D34 Del. Undeclared	D33 Colo. Running	D32	D31
D41 N.J. Running	D42 N.M. Undeclared	D43 Ore. Running	D44 R.I. Running	D45 Va. Undeclared	I1	I2	To be appointed Ohio (sp.)	R52 Wyo. Undeclared	R51 W.Va. Undeclared
Majority →
R41 Maine Running	R42 Miss. Running	R43 Mont. Undeclared	R44 Neb. Running	R45 N.C. Running	R46 Okla. Undeclared	R47 S.C. Undeclared	R48 S.D. Undeclared	R49 Tenn. Undeclared	R50 Texas Running
R40 La. Running	R39 Ky. Undeclared	R38 Kan. Undeclared	R37 Iowa Running	R36 Idaho Undeclared	R35 Ark. Undeclared	R34 Alaska Undeclared	R33 Ala. Running	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D20	D19	D18	D17	D16	D15	D14	D13	D12	D11
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
Ga. TBD	Del. TBD	Colo. TBD	Ark. TBD	Alaska TBD	Ala. TBD	I2	I1	D32	D31
Idaho TBD	Ill. TBD	Iowa TBD	Kan. TBD	Ky. TBD	La. TBD	Maine TBD	Mass. TBD	Mich. TBD	Minn. TBD
Majority TBD →
Ore. TBD	Okla. TBD	Ohio (sp.) TBD	N.C. TBD	N.M. TBD	N.J. TBD	N.H. TBD	Neb. TBD	Mont. TBD	Miss. TBD
R.I. TBD	S.C. TBD	S.D. TBD	Tenn. TBD	Texas TBD	Va. TBD	W.Va. TBD	Wyo. TBD	R32	R31
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	R29	R30
R20	R19	R18	R17	R16	R15	R14	R13	R12	R11
R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10

Key	D# Democratic R# Republican I# Independent, caucusing with Democrats

No senators have announced plans for retirement in 2026.

In each special election, the winner's term begins immediately after their election is certified by their state's government.

Elections are sorted by date then state.

Constituency		Incumbent			Status	Candidates
State	PVI[2]	Senator	Party	Electoral history
Ohio (Class 3)	R+6	TBD	TBD	TBD (appointed)	Interim appointee's intent unknown	TBD

In these general elections, the winners will be elected for the term beginning January 3, 2027.

Constituency		Incumbent				Results	Candidates
State (linked to summaries below)	PVI[3]	Senator	Party	Electoral history	Last race
Alabama	R+15	Tommy Tuberville	Republican	2020	60.1% R	Incumbent running	▌Tommy Tuberville (Republican)
Alaska	R+8	Dan Sullivan	Republican	2014 2020	53.9% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Arkansas	R+16	Tom Cotton	Republican	2014 2020	66.5% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Colorado	D+4	John Hickenlooper	Democratic	2020	53.5% D	Incumbent running	▌John Hickenlooper (Democratic)[4]
Delaware	D+7	Chris Coons	Democratic	2010 (special) 2014 2020	59.4% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Georgia	R+3	Jon Ossoff	Democratic	2021	50.6% D	Incumbent running	▌Jon Ossoff (Democratic)[5]
Idaho	R+18	Jim Risch	Republican	2008 2014 2020	62.6% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Illinois	D+7	Dick Durbin	Democratic	1996 2002 2008 2014 2020	54.9% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Iowa	R+6	Joni Ernst	Republican	2014 2020	51.8% R	Incumbent running	▌Joni Ernst (Republican)[6]
Kansas	R+10	Roger Marshall	Republican	2020	53.2% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Kentucky	R+16	Mitch McConnell	Republican	1984 1990 1996 2002 2008 2014 2020	57.8% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Louisiana	R+12	Bill Cassidy	Republican	2014 2020	59.3% R	Incumbent running	▌Bill Cassidy (Republican)[7]
Maine	D+2	Susan Collins	Republican	1996 2002 2008 2014 2020	51.0% R	Incumbent running	▌Susan Collins (Republican)[8]
Massachusetts	D+15	Ed Markey	Democratic	2013 (special) 2014 2020	66.2% D	Incumbent running	▌Ed Markey (Democratic)[9]
Michigan	R+1	Gary Peters	Democratic	2014 2020	49.9% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Minnesota	D+1	Tina Smith	DFL	2018 (appointed) 2018 (special) 2020	48.7% DFL	Incumbent running	▌Tina Smith (DFL)[10] ▌Royce White (Republican)[11]
Mississippi	R+11	Cindy Hyde-Smith	Republican	2018 (appointed) 2018 (special) 2020	54.1% R	Incumbent running	▌Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican)[12]
Montana	R+11	Steve Daines	Republican	2014 2020	55.0% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	▌Reilly Neill (Democratic)[13]
Nebraska	R+13	Pete Ricketts	Republican	2023 (appointed) 2024 (special)	63.1% R[c]	Incumbent running	▌Pete Ricketts (Republican)[14]
New Hampshire	D+1	Jeanne Shaheen	Democratic	2008 2014 2020	56.7% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
New Jersey	D+6	Cory Booker	Democratic	2013 (special) 2014 2020	57.2% D	Incumbent running	▌Cory Booker (Democratic)[15]
New Mexico	D+3	Ben Ray Luján	Democratic	2020	51.7% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
North Carolina	R+3	Thom Tillis	Republican	2014 2020	48.7% R	Incumbent running	▌Thom Tillis (Republican)[16]
Oklahoma	R+20	Markwayne Mullin	Republican	2022 (special)	61.9% R[d]	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Oregon	D+6	Jeff Merkley	Democratic	2008 2014 2020	56.9% D	Incumbent running	TBD
Rhode Island	D+8	Jack Reed	Democratic	1996 2002 2008 2014 2020	66.5% D	Incumbent running	▌Jack Reed (Democratic)[17]
South Carolina	R+8	Lindsey Graham	Republican	2002 2008 2014 2020	54.4% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
South Dakota	R+16	Mike Rounds	Republican	2014 2020	65.7% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Tennessee	R+14	Bill Hagerty	Republican	2020	62.2% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Texas	R+5	John Cornyn	Republican	2002 2008 2014 2020	53.5% R	Incumbent running	▌John Cornyn (Republican)[18]
Virginia	D+3	Mark Warner	Democratic	2008 2014 2020	56.0% D	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
West Virginia	R+22	Shelley Moore Capito	Republican	2014 2020	70.3% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	▌Derrick Evans (Republican)[19]
Wyoming	R+25	Cynthia Lummis	Republican	2020	73.1% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD

One-term Republican Tommy Tuberville has filed paperwork to run for re-election.^[20] Despite this, there was speculation that he might not run in 2026. However, on November 12, 2024, he announced his plans to seek re-election.^[21] He was elected in 2020 with 60.1% of the vote.

Two-term Republican Dan Sullivan was re-elected in 2020 with 53.9% of the vote. Outgoing U.S. Representative Mary Peltola is considered a potential Democratic candidate.^[22]

Two-term Republican Tom Cotton was re-elected in 2020 with 66.5% of the vote. Democratic activist and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2022, Dan Whitfield, has announced his campaign.^[23][24]

One-term Democrat John Hickenlooper, who was first elected in 2020, has stated that he plans to run for re-election.^[4][25] Hickenlooper received 53.5% of the vote in 2020.

Two-term Democrat Chris Coons was re-elected in 2020 with 59.4% of the vote.

One-term Democrat Jon Ossoff is running for re-election to a second term in office.^[26] He was first elected in a 2021 runoff with 50.6% of the vote. Republican U.S. Representative Buddy Carter has publicly expressed interest in running.^[27] Other potential Republican candidates include Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler,^[28] and Governor Brian Kemp, who will be term-limited in 2026.^[29]

Three-term Republican Jim Risch was re-elected in 2020 with 62.6% of the vote.

Five-term Democrat and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin was re-elected in 2020 with 54.9% of the vote. Durbin had filed paperwork to run for re-election. Should Durbin be elected to a sixth term, he would become the longest serving senator from Illinois, surpassing Senator Shelby M. Cullom, who served five terms before losing the Republican renomination in 1912. If he decides against running, potential Democratic candidates include Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lauren Underwood, Nikki Budzinski, Alexi Giannoulias, Kwame Raoul, Susana Mendoza, Juliana Stratton, Mike Frerichs, Robin Kelly,^[30] and Rahm Emanuel;^[31] potential Republican candidates include Darin LaHood.^[30]

Two-term Republican Joni Ernst was re-elected in 2020 with 51.7% of the vote. She plans to run for a third term.^[6]

One-term Republican Roger Marshall was elected in 2020 with 53.2% of the vote.

Seven-term Republican and Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was reelected in 2020 with 57.8% of the vote. McConnell is retired as leader after the 2024 elections but says he plans to serve out the remainder of his term, leading to speculation that he may not run for reelection.^[32] If McConnell chooses to retire, former Kentucky Attorney General and 2023 Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, as well as Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky's 4th district, are considered strong contenders for the Republican nomination.^[33][34] Other potential Republican candidates include U.S. Representative Andy Barr, Kentucky State Auditor Allison Ball, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, and former United Nations ambassador and 2023 Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft. U.S. Representative James Comer has declined to run.^[35]

Though there was some speculation that Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear might seek the open seat, he has stated he does not intend to run, citing his desire to finish out his second term as governor.^[35][36]

Two-term Republican Bill Cassidy was re-elected in 2020 with 59.3% of the vote in the first round of the "Louisiana primary" and is running for re-election to a third term.^[7]

John Bel Edwards, the former Governor of Louisiana, is a potential Democratic candidate.^[37][38] U.S. Representative Clay Higgins and Louisiana State Treasurer and former U.S. Representative John Fleming are considered potential Republican challengers.^[39]

This will be the first election under a new law which abolished the state's open primary system. Party primaries will be closed off to non-party members, though voters not affiliated with a party can vote in them.^[40]

Five-term Republican Susan Collins was re-elected with 51% of the vote in 2020. She is running for a sixth term.^[41]

Two-term Democrat Ed Markey was re-elected in 2020 with 66.2% of the vote and is running for re-election to a third full term.^[9][42] Markey would be 80 years old on election day; if he were to win reelection to another six year term he would be the oldest senator to represent Massachusetts in the history of the Commonwealth upon being sworn in.^[43][44][45] Former governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker, a Republican, is considering a run for the seat.^{[46][47][48][49]}

Two-term Democrat Gary Peters was re-elected in 2020 with 49.9% of the vote.

One-term Democrat Tina Smith was re-elected in 2020 with 48.7% of the vote after being appointed by the governor in 2018 and subsequently winning a special election that same year.

2024 Republican U.S. Senate nominee Royce White has announced his candidacy.^[11]

One-term Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith was re-elected in 2020 with 54.1% of the vote after being appointed in 2018 and subsequently winning a special election that same year. She is running for a second full term in office.^[12]

Two-term Republican Steve Daines was re-elected in 2020 with 55% of the vote.

Former Representative from the Montana House of Representatives Reilly Neill is running for the Democratic nomination.^[13]

Two-term Republican Ben Sasse resigned early in the 118th Congress to become president of the University of Florida.^[50] Former governor Pete Ricketts was appointed as interim senator on January 12, 2023, by governor Jim Pillen.^[51] He won the 2024 special election to serve the remainder of Sasse's term, defeating Preston Love Jr.^[52] 2024 Nebraska Independent candidate for senate Dan Osborn who challeged incumbent Deb Fischer is a potential candidate.^[53]

Three-term Democrat Jeanne Shaheen was re-elected in 2020 with 56.6% of the vote. On the Republican side, former U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown has publicly expressed interest in running.^[54]

Two-term Democrat Cory Booker was re-elected in 2020 with 57.2% of the vote and is running for re-election to a third full term.^[15]

One-term Democrat Ben Ray Luján was elected in 2020 with 51.7% of the vote.

Two-term Republican Thom Tillis was re-elected in 2020 with 48.7% of the vote. On June 10, 2023, the North Carolina Republican Party censured Tillis over his bipartisan support on gun control and same-sex marriage.^[55] Outgoing U.S. Representative Wiley Nickel and outgoing governor Roy Cooper are considered potential Democratic candidates.^[56][57] In July 2024, after reporting that the Kamala Harris presidential campaign might select him as vice presidential nominee, Cooper publicly withdrew himself from consideration, furthering speculation that he may be planning to run for the Senate.^[58] Although Mark Robinson is considered a potential candidate to Primary Thom Tillis, he has said that running for a future political office is 'not on my radar at all'.^[59]

One-term Republican JD Vance was elected in 2022 with 53% of the vote. He was elected as Vice President of the United States under President-elect Donald Trump in 2024, meaning he will resign his Senate seat before his term expires and Governor Mike DeWine will appoint an interim successor.^[60]

Billionaire co-head of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Vivek Ramaswamy withdrew himself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment; however, his work with the government efficiency commission will end on July 4, 2026, leading to speculation he could be a candidate for the special election if Governor DeWine's appointee forgoes running in the special election to hold the seat for the last two years of senator Vance's term, which expires at noon on January 3, 2029.^[61][62]

Former U.S. Representative for Ohio's 13th congressional district and previous Democratic nominee for the seat in 2022 Tim Ryan and outgoing senior senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown have expressed interest in running for the seat.^[61][63]

Incumbent Markwayne Mullin won a special election in 2022 with 61.8% of the vote to complete the remainder of the term vacated by fellow Republican Jim Inhofe, who resigned on January 3, 2023.^[64]

Three-term Democrat Jeff Merkley was re-elected in 2020 with 56.9% of the vote and is running for re-election to a fourth term.

Five-term Democrat Jack Reed was re-elected in 2020 with 66.5% of the vote. He is running for re-election to a sixth term.^[17]

Four-term Republican Lindsey Graham was re-elected in 2020 with 54.4% of the vote. U.S. Representative Ralph Norman has been named as a potential challenger for Graham in the Republican primary.^[65] Democratic activist, author, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022, Catherine Fleming Bruce, has filed to run.^[66]

Two-term Republican Mike Rounds was re-elected in 2020 with 65.7% of the vote.

One-term Republican Bill Hagerty was elected in 2020 with 62.2% of the vote.

Four-term Republican John Cornyn was re-elected in 2020 with 53.5% of the vote and is running for a fifth term in 2026.^[18] Republican U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton have expressed interest in running.^[67][68]

Three-term Democrat Mark Warner was re-elected in 2020 with 56% of the vote. Governor Glenn Youngkin, who will leave office in early 2026, is considered a potential candidate for Republicans.^[69][70]

Two-term Republican Shelley Moore Capito was re-elected in 2020 with 70.3% of the vote. State Delegate Derrick Evans has announced his campaign to primary Capito.^[71]

One-term Republican Cynthia Lummis was elected in 2020 with 73.1% of the vote.

• 2026 United States elections